Reading: Isaiah 51
My Verse: "Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings"(Isaiah 51:7).
The Amplified Bible says it this way - "you who know rightness and justice and right standing with God." Especially like the use of the word "rightness." For that is what God is - He is everything that is good, correct and right! Oh that I keep that sense of Your rightness in my heart, LORD God!
Often as a teacher I would talk to my students about how we conduct ourselves and how the world perceives us. We lived in a tiny village and I felt it important that they understood the need to present themselves in a good way. We would speak of how when one sees a home uncared for - yard a mess, house in disrepair - this told you that things aren't quite right there, something is amiss. The same when you see a person unkempt and slovenly - again you sense that something is wrong. I don't believe this is being judgmental at all. It is an observation and a perception. Being creatures of You, LORD God, we do sense when something isn't right, something is off. We sense this because You created us in Your own image. (Genesis 1:27) Just like we know when we have done a wrong thing - You placed a conscious in each of us to let us know that - yes that was a wrong thing to do! Being created beings we know when rightness is absent.
You, LORD God are goodness (Mark 10:18) and beauty (Exodus 15:11) and perfection (Matthew 5:48)! When we give ourselves to You, LORD God, You heighten our sense of this goodness, beauty and perfection. You start to transform us to become as You would have us.
"Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.
But when one turns to the LORD,
the veil is removed.
Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom.
And we all, with unveiled face,
beholding the glory of the LORD,
are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.
For this comes from the LORD who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:15-18).
I have been reading The End For Which God Created the World by Jonathan Edwards. Even though I am reading an updated version it is still incredibly difficult for me. And yet, I am being slowly amazed as the truths he brings forth emerge. I came across one just the other day that kind of blew me away - the breathtaking beauty of it! And it speaks so well to this effect God's rightness has upon us, his created beings.
"In God there is an infinite fullness of all possible good.
He has the fullness of every perfect attribute.
He has as his very nature all excellence and beauty. . .
Furthermore, all of this fullness is capable of overflowing out of and from God.
He can, in other words, communicate his fullness.
He has the capacity to cause the fullness of his glory to emanate from himself outward to others.
this being the case, it seems to be agreeable and valuable in itself that it should flow.
It is right and proper for the infinite fountain of good to pour out into abundant streams!"
This is so incredibly awesome! God by his very nature wants so very much to communicate his goodness and beauty and perfection to me! It is what and who He is! This overflowing of His goodness is so very powerful even those who deny him sense when rightness is absent from their hearts and actions.
Thank you, LORD God for your overflowing goodness and beauty and perfection!
"For the LORD God is a sun and a shield:
the LORD will give grace and glory:
no good thing will He withhold from them what walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11).
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
My Verse: "Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings"(Isaiah 51:7).
The Amplified Bible says it this way - "you who know rightness and justice and right standing with God." Especially like the use of the word "rightness." For that is what God is - He is everything that is good, correct and right! Oh that I keep that sense of Your rightness in my heart, LORD God!
Often as a teacher I would talk to my students about how we conduct ourselves and how the world perceives us. We lived in a tiny village and I felt it important that they understood the need to present themselves in a good way. We would speak of how when one sees a home uncared for - yard a mess, house in disrepair - this told you that things aren't quite right there, something is amiss. The same when you see a person unkempt and slovenly - again you sense that something is wrong. I don't believe this is being judgmental at all. It is an observation and a perception. Being creatures of You, LORD God, we do sense when something isn't right, something is off. We sense this because You created us in Your own image. (Genesis 1:27) Just like we know when we have done a wrong thing - You placed a conscious in each of us to let us know that - yes that was a wrong thing to do! Being created beings we know when rightness is absent.
You, LORD God are goodness (Mark 10:18) and beauty (Exodus 15:11) and perfection (Matthew 5:48)! When we give ourselves to You, LORD God, You heighten our sense of this goodness, beauty and perfection. You start to transform us to become as You would have us.
"Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.
But when one turns to the LORD,
the veil is removed.
Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom.
And we all, with unveiled face,
beholding the glory of the LORD,
are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.
For this comes from the LORD who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:15-18).
I have been reading The End For Which God Created the World by Jonathan Edwards. Even though I am reading an updated version it is still incredibly difficult for me. And yet, I am being slowly amazed as the truths he brings forth emerge. I came across one just the other day that kind of blew me away - the breathtaking beauty of it! And it speaks so well to this effect God's rightness has upon us, his created beings.
"In God there is an infinite fullness of all possible good.
He has the fullness of every perfect attribute.
He has as his very nature all excellence and beauty. . .
Furthermore, all of this fullness is capable of overflowing out of and from God.
He can, in other words, communicate his fullness.
He has the capacity to cause the fullness of his glory to emanate from himself outward to others.
this being the case, it seems to be agreeable and valuable in itself that it should flow.
It is right and proper for the infinite fountain of good to pour out into abundant streams!"
This is so incredibly awesome! God by his very nature wants so very much to communicate his goodness and beauty and perfection to me! It is what and who He is! This overflowing of His goodness is so very powerful even those who deny him sense when rightness is absent from their hearts and actions.
Thank you, LORD God for your overflowing goodness and beauty and perfection!
"For the LORD God is a sun and a shield:
the LORD will give grace and glory:
no good thing will He withhold from them what walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11).
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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